Rail-profile instrument



F. V. CARMAN.

RAIL PROFILE INSTRUMENT,

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I6. 1919.

1,347,07 Patented July 20,1920.

- 3-S.HEE]$-SHEEI l.

Z Z a 1 o o P I Q Q /6 Q WITNESS INVENTOR I 92%; V (LI/W MT By MYW A TTORNE YS Patented J Ill-3'20, 1920.

3 SHEElS-SHEET 2.

IN VEN TOR WITNESS WVW A TTORNE YS F. V. CARMAN.

RAIL PROFILE INSTRUMENT. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1919.

Patented July 20, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

QIUIQICIDIIJII) O WITNESS INVENTOR BY W M r M v- M A TTOR NE YS measuring railway rails, although it may be. used upon any slmilar beam or rail.

UNITED; STATES PATENT- OFFICE.

' FRANK v. cAnMAN, or OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

V RAIL-PROFILE INSTRUMENT.

,To all whom it'mdy concern:

' -Be it known that I, FRANK V. CARMAN,

citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in- Rail- Profile Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

Myv invention relates to aninstrument for measuring a rail byfmaking an outline of its cross-section contour, or profile.

My inventionis particularly adapted for I In railwaypractice it is necessary to replace a rail, for the'sake of safety, when witha standard profile of the unworn rail.

This involves considerable time and labor, 7 in. making the cast, removing it from the" rail,' transporti ng' it'to drafting room, and drawing the profile. v v t The object of my invention is to provide an instrument by means of which an acj the cross-sectionalarea of'its head is re- J duced, bywear, to a certain predetermined fraction of its original value, This wear is customarily measured by making a plaster cast of the worn rail, while still in place in the track, and then making a profile drawing from said plaster cast, andcomparing it curate profile of a rail may be quickly and easily made in one-operation, the instrument being attached to the rail to be measured,

and the profile drawn directly therefrom,

either upon a blank sheet or superimposed upon a previously prepared profile of the standard -rail,s0 the comparison may be easily and accurately made at once.

My invention will be more fully described with, reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein;

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my rail profile instrument."

Fig. 2 isa rearlelevation ofjthe same.

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on the line'3'3 of Fig.2 looking in the direction ofthe arrows.

. Fig. 4: is a partly broken view, enlarged,

. of the stylus and its supporting arm.

Fig. 51s a-detailed view, enlarged, of the carriage retaining latch.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates a :rail of which the profile is desired. A pair Specification of Letters Patent. P t t J ly 20, '1920 Application filed September 16, 1919. Serial No. 324,122. 7

of parallel vertical clamping members 2, Figs. 1 and 2 provided with feet 3 adapted to embrace the base flange of the rail, are operated by rightand left-threaded screws l Figs. 2 and 3, passing through nuts 1, in

dicated by dotted lines in said clamping members. Said screws are provided at their center portions with sprockets 6, which are connected by a chain 7, so as to operate in -unison, and one of said screws is further f provided with a-handle 8, Flgs. 1 and 2, said handle being preferably removable. I

The screws & are'journaled in brackets 9,

Fig. 2, projecting from the back of a plate.

10, which is held in a vertical position above and at right-angles to the rail to be'measured. i

The plate 10 has onits front surface a holder 11F ig. '1, in which may be placed the paper, card or sheet 12 on which the profile istofbe drawn. This holder consists of three strips, one at bottom and one at each side,-as shown in Fig. 1, secured to the plate 10, and overlapping the bottom and side edges of the paper 12. At the upper and lower edges of the plate 10 Fig. 1 are horizontal slotted guides 13, in which'operate sliding members 1 1. The slottedguides 13 are, as shown in Fig. 3, tubular, and the sliding members 14 are correspondingly cyand follow the surface or contour of the rail 1. Near its upper end, the slide 17 carries a horizontallyfdisposed reversible arm. 20, secured preferably by a knurled nut 21'and located or fixed by dowel pins 22, so that said arm may be moved to'eXtend to either side of said slide 17.

At the end of the arm 20 is carried a stylus 23, Fig. 1, which is illustrated in its pre ferred form in Fig. 4 as a pencil holder comprising a tube 24' adapted to contain a pencil 25, a conical cap 26 having a central opening through which the'point 27 of said pencil projects, a spring 28 for forcing said pencil outwardly, an adjusting screw 29 for regulating the tension of said spring, and a removable protecting shell 30.

At the upper end ofthe vertical slide 17 there is provided a latch 31, Figs. 1, 3 and 5, rotatably secured to said slide, and having its end portion bent horizontally, as shown.

Said latch 31, whenswung into register with the slot or channel in the vertical guide 15, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, operates within said slot, permitting free vertical movement of the slide 17, and when swung to a position to engage the upper end of said guide 15, as in Fig. 5, said latch supports the slide 17 and prevents it from dropping; and in order to keep said slide 17 from falling entirely out of its guide 15 there is provided a stop 32, Figs. 1 and 3. secured to said slide at 33, and adapted to abut against the lower supplort 3 lof said guide 15, Fig. 3.

V e clamping members 2 are provided with pockets 35, Fig. 2 in which may be carried the removable stylus 23 and the removable clampscrews-handle 8 when the instrument is not in use. Likewise'shims 36may'be carried in said pockets, said shims being provided for insertion between the base of the rail 1 and one of the clamp feet 3,?as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, for the purpose of truing the instrument in case it is desired to draw the rail profile upon a standard profile previously drawn upon the sheet, in

order to compare the two.

In the operation, the instrument is first clamped 'u' on the rail 1 whose profile is desired. he stylus 23 is then placed in position, and the latch 28 moved into regis- 'terpwith the slot of the vertical guide 15.'

corresponding line upon the sheet.

The operator then moves one of the fingers 19 over the cross sectional contour surface 13 with their connecting guide 15, and the vertically movable slide 17 in said guide, which said parts constitute, in effect, a carriage mounted for universal movement in a plane, the contour following fingers and the stylus associated with said carriage are en abled to execute duplicate movements.

I claim: 1. A rall profilc-drawlng lnstrument comfor securingsaid paper-holder to the rail in a plane perpendicular thereto; a horizontal gu de at the topand bottom of sald paper-holder; a slide member in each hori-.:

zontal guide; a vertical guide connecting said slide members; a slide operating with in said vertical guide; a stylus carried by the upper portion of said slide; and a finger secured .to the lower portion of said slide and adapted to follow the surface of said rail.

'2. A rail profile-drawing instrument comprising a paper-holder; clamping members for securing said pa )QI-hOlClGI' to the rail in a plane perpendicu ar thereto; a horizontal guide supported by said paper-holder; a vertical guide movably mounted within said horizontal guide; a slide operating within said vertical guide; a st lusicarried by said slide and adapted to e extended laterally in either direction therefrom; and a pair of'oppositely disposed laterally pro jecting fingers secured to said slide adapted to follow the surface of said rail.

3. A rail fprofile drawin instrument comprising a paper-holder; clamping-members for securing said paper-holder to the rail in a plane perpendicular thereto; a horizontal guide at the top "and bottom' of said paper-holder; a slidemember in each horizontal uide; a vertical 1 guide connecting said slide members; a slide operating within said vertical guide; a stylus carried by the upper portion ofsaid slide and adapted to be extended laterallytherefrom in either direction; and a pair of oppositely disposed laterally projecting fingers carried by the lower end of said slide, one adapted to follow the surface of the rail onone side and the-other to follow the surface on the other side.

4. A rail profile-drawinginstrument comprising a paper-holder; a pair-of co-acting members carried by the paper-holder and adapted to clamp the 'base of the rail to hold the paper holder in a plane perpendicular to the rail; screws carried by the paperholder and engaging said members to clamp them to the rail fbase; guides supported by said paper-holder; a movablecarriage operating within said guides; stylus mounted on said carriage; and a finger secured to said carriage and adapted to follow the sur face of said rail.

5. A rail profile drawing instrument comprising a paper-holder; a pair of coacting members carried by the paper-holder and adapted 'to clamp the base ofthe rail to hold the paper holder in a plane per endicular to the rail a pair'of screws carried by the paper-holder and engaging said members to clamp them to therail base; a chain connecting saidscrews to effect their operation inunison; a horizontal'guide atthe top and bottom of said paper-holder; a slide memher in each horizontal guide; a vertical guide connecting said slide members; a slide operating Within said vertical guide; a stylus carriedby the upper portion of said slide and adapted to be extended laterally therefrom in either direction; and a pair name to this specification in the presence of of oppositely disposed laterally projecting two subscribing Witnesses. fingers carried by the lower end of said slide, one adapted to follow the surface of BRANK OARMAN' 5 the rail on one side and the other to follow Witnesses: the surface on the other side. WM. F. BOOTH,

In testimony whereof I have signed my D. B. RICHARDS. 

